Media Exposure Has Adverse Impact on Children's Health

Sunday, January 11, 2009 by: Reuben Chow
Tags: media exposure, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) Some natural health practitioners advocate the avoidance of television in the pursuit of good health. Why? Because television, more often than not, is filled with bad news, negative attitudes, violence and sex. Often, it also promotes insecurity, fear, hatred and consumerism. A recent study conducted by the United States National Institutes of Health, Yale University and the California Pacific Medical Center has affirmed such assertions, revealing that exposure to media sources has a negative effect on the physical health of children.

Details and Findings of Study

The study team had looked at 173 previous studies conducted since 1980 about the effects which the media has on children. About four out of every five of the studies concurred that heavy exposure to the media raises the risk of harmful behavior and conditions in children, including attention problems, drug and alcohol use, obesity, poor grades in school, smoking as well as sex. With specific regard to sex, 93% of those studies found that children with more exposure to the media have sex at a younger age.

How much time exactly are children today spending with the mass media? The numbers do not look too good. On average, the study found that a child in the modern world today spends close to 45 hours each week with media sources such as cell phones, the internet, magazines, movies, music, television, and video games. That is almost as much as the average combined time spent each week with their parents and in school, which number at 17 hours and 30 hours respectively.

The Impact of the Media

The impact of the media can be very pronounced, yet also very subtle. Subconsciously, what we watch and read can be having a profound impact on our attitudes and habits without us even knowing it. Of course, this can apply to both adults and children. The latter, though, are more susceptible because they are still at a more impressionable age. "Our kids are sponges, and we really need to remember they learn from their environment," said Cary P Gross, a professor at Yale School of Medicine and co-author of the study.

The Urgent Need to Address the Problem among Children

The study team hopes to raise awareness among parents, teachers and society in general about the adverse effects which the media has on the health of our children. Other studies have already surfaced the gravity of the situation in the present-day, with obesity and disease rates among the young ones climbing alarmingly. A recent study even found that young children are already having arteries which are as degenerated as middle-aged adults! (https://www.naturalnews.com/025096.html)

The children are of course the future of the world and, going at the present rate of deterioration, we are going to be left with generations of very unhealthy people in the not-too-distant future. Both economically and socially, it is not an exaggeration to say that the consequences could be quite disastrous.

Adults of today are the children`s shepherds, and with that comes responsibility. It is important not just to limit children`s use of media, but also to guide them on evaluating the volumes of information which they are flooded with on a daily basis. And while this was an American study, many developed nations may have similar trends, and action all-round may be needed.

Ezekiel Emanuel, another co-author of the study from the National Institutes of Health, summed it up pretty well when he said, "The idea that this is having a really measurable adverse impact on health makes it important to take this seriously. Every year, we have 4 million new kids. How long are we going to wait?"

Source

Media Exposure Is Bad For Kids` Health, Study Says (http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Media_Exposur...)

About the author

Reuben Chow has a keen interest in natural health and healing as well as personal growth. His website, All 4 Natural Health, offers a basic guide on natural health information. It details simple, effective and natural ways, such as the use of nutrition, various herbs, herb remedies, supplements and other natural remedies, to deal with various health conditions as well as to attain good health. His other websites also cover topics such as depression help, omega 3 fatty acids, as well as cancer research and information.